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Accelerate the development and
deployment of web applications using Macromedia ColdFusion
MX
ColdFusion MX is the solution for building and deploying
powerful web applications and web services. Using the
proven tag-based scripting and built-in services in ColdFusion
MX, web application developers can easily harness the
power of the Java platform without the complexity. Available
for stand-alone installation or for deployment on industry-leading
J2EE application servers, ColdFusion enables over 10,000
customers and hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide
to deliver powerful web applications in record time.
Macromedia says - With ColdFusion MX,
you can build and deploy powerful web applications and
web services with far less training time and fewer lines
of code than ASP, PHP, and JSP. The latest version 6.1
delivers simplified installation and migration, a streamlined
product family, updates to key ColdFusion features, and
a dramatic increase in runtime performance. Read
More from Macromedia
ColdFusion MX at a Glance - Build powerful
Internet applications and web services in record time
with ColdFusion MX. Save time and money on your next development
project by leveraging the highly productive ColdFusion
scripting language and extensive suite of built-in application
services. Featuring easy integration with enterprise data,
built-in connectivity for Macromedia Flash user interfaces,
integrated search and charting, and complete support for
XML and web services, ColdFusion MX provides everything
you need to deliver powerful applications. More
from Macromedia.
A comparison between Cold Fusion and ASP (Microsoft’s
Active Server Pages)
A thorough evaluation of both products proved them both
to be quite capable, making the choice difficult. However,
in the end Coldfusion got the nod. A comparison of the
salient features of either product follows:
| Guideline | Example | Rationale | Comments |
| Syntax | script-based, developer friendly; supports VB syntax. | tag-based, html author friendly. Supports JS style scripting as well. | ASP has support for multiple, extensible scripting languages. CF's tag syntax is simpler and easier |
| DB connectivity | Database connectivity through ADO COM object - ODBC | Database connectivity through tags - ODBC, Native drivers, OLE DB, ADO COM objects, etc. | the CF DB tags are somewhat easier to use than ASP ADO objects. |
| Data manipulation | direct, through ADO objects | implicit, through tag usage | ASP's recordset objects instead of tag parameter is more flexible, powerful |
| Architecture | ISAPI filter | ISAPI, WSAPI, NSAPI filters and Apache Modules |
both products run as ISAPI filters in IIS's address space for excellent performance and integration with IIS. CF also runs on the other 'standard' servers. |
| Extendibility | Server components can be created in any tool that produces COM objects (OLE servers), like VB, VC++, etc. | extension tags can be produced using the CF language itself, or C++ API, any COM objects usable in ASP can also be used here. CF 4 adds in CORBA functionality as well. Java Class usage added through outside tag. | CF wins, it can use any ASP components, plus you can write your own tags |
| Pre-built functionality | VB library functions and Server objects, components | function library and Server objects | both have excellent support here |
| Application framework | dynamic, using server side objects and event programming | dynamic and/or static, using an automatically included application file | ASP's model is event based, whereas CF's is include based, but both are capable of the same things |
| State Management | dynamic, using a temporary cookie to identify a server side object with configurable expiration | static across user sessions, using a permanent cookie with storage in the Windows registry/database, or dynamic just like ASP's | CF will do state management just like ASP, or it can preserve state across browser sessions making it more flexible. |
| Debugging | error message sent to browser upon runtime errors, or not. On/Off switch, no customization. | configurable debugging information (including SQL debugging info) sent to browser upon runtime errors, can be restricted to certain IP addresses | CF has by far the better debugging |
| Error Handling | Default error screens are ugly, roll your own if you don't like them. You can trap and handle errors in script, although the process is ugly and limited. | Allows specification of a default error handling HTML template, into which error information is plugged, much easier to display consistent and complete error information. Ability to trap errors in script and take conditional action. | CF has much better support for customizable error messages. |
| Web Server Support | IIS only, possibly others w/ non-MS add-ons (like ChileASP) | any CGI compliant web server, a number of servers using native APIs (ISAPI, NSAPI, WSAPI, etc) | CF wins hands down |
| Maturity | rough around the edges | polished, 4.0 product | CF has been around longer and is more polished, complete, and easy to use product; but ASP has made huge strides quickly |
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